Anyone live in the City of London?

[EPluribusUnum]

Right in it, I mean?

We live in zone 3 in our family home. Kids have now left home so we no longer need so much space. I work in Canary Wharf, DH works in Farringdon and we need to be able to get to Maidenhead easily to visit his parents.

I've been thinking about the area around Farringdon/Barbican or Liverpool Street- no commute for DH, I can do 2 stops on the Elizabeth Line and we can also use the Elizabeth Line to visit his parents.

I wondered whether anyone lived in this area and how you found it? Key things for us are access to transport for work and a reasonably peaceful flat (obviously bearing in mind we are talking central London not the Scottish Highlands). In spare time we like to go to concerts and galleries so central London would be great. I always think of the City as dead at the weekend but perhaps that's not so true as it used to be?

Is there something I'm missing, beyond the fact we'll have a lot less space? We won't generally use a car much but I'd like to have one somewhere- a res park space 5 mins away would be fine if I can generally find one, don't need my own space.

Thanks for any advice!

Not quite. I lived in that area until very recently, but was in London Borough of Islington not actually City of London, but it was a matter of a few streets. Still have many friends living Smithfield and in the Barbican. Kids went to school at Barbican and I worked in the City (still do).

You won’t need or use a car at all. In fact, I’d ditch it. Total pain. Most friends (wealthy professionals, with kids) round there don’t have one. With all the Low Traffic zones and school streets around there it can take you an hour to drive Smithfield to Kings Cross. It’s a mile. I am not joking - can even be longer on a Fri night.

City is fun at the weekends. Loads to do but chain stuff is closed. Nice restaurants around Whitecross St and Cowcross St. Museum of London is closed currently, but I love the Barbican cinema and the concert hall are amazing. Good library there.

Sorry - it’s not noisy round there, but lorries arriving and sitting around Smithfield meat market can be irritating. I live the City and discovering the historic churches and hidden history. Also area around Smiths of Smithfield and Fabric can be noisy at weekends.

Also area around Smiths of Smithfield and Fabric can be noisy at weekends.

This takes me back 😄

Thank you! The car would be for visiting family out of London- definitely not driving in London- but I wonder whether we can do without?

How often do you visit family? I don't have a car, just hire one for those occasions.

Reading with interest as I've always wanted to live in the City, ever since reading Queen of Silks by Vanora Bennett. We currently live in the suburbs of Leeds so I think we are both literally and figuratively a lot further from being able to achieve this 😀

No but it’s my dream to live in the City. Can I come to the flat warming.

My friend lives in the Barbican, in one of the towers, and absolutely loves it. It is surprisingly quiet, you never get tired of the view, they walk and cycle everywhere or get public transport. They do have a car and keep it in the car park for residents , it probably costs a fortune, not sure.

I would very happily live in her flat. So well laid out, balcony that wraps around two sides, I have never heard other residents through the walls. Also they get lots of preview invites etc to Barbican events.

My friends live in the Barbican. They say if's very quiet and it certainly always seems if whenever I go there. They go to lots of concerts etc in the Barbican Centre, have access to beautiful private gardens and are a 3 minute walk from Moorgate Station.

Used to and have friends who still do. I was Barbican but have knowledge of non-barbican blocks too.

generally quiet. Light pollution from office blocks more of an issue than noise.

you won’t need a car. Plan to use zipcar or equivalent (I still live in zone 1 and have acquired a car- it’s a hassle).

being able to walk places is great.

I’d move back if selling up and repurchasing wasn’t such a hassle.

Counterpoint - friends of ours are moving from their flat in historic Cloth Fair because they feel the reality did not love up their dream. Dead at weekends - to the extent of having to walk a long way to find any little grocery or newsagent open. Everything geared towards the needs of the big landlords and companies. So that the Corp of London would make decisions not based on needs of individuals/families but of those paying the biggest bucks. They found it soulless and inhospitable. Couldn't wait to move out. Perhaps it's better to be within the Barbican which is its own community?

@friskybivalves intersting. I have friends on Clothfair who love it. And there’s about 20 flats.

On the car in the City thing - ditch the car. You save a massive amount of money and hassle by hiring a car when you need to visit friends. Ridiculously easy to do. That’s what we did - even with 3 kids and no family in London, it was far easier and cheaper to hire a car when we needed.

We have lots of friends in Barbican towers and lower level flats. It’s a great community and super for kids, but there is a very “active” residents association so you can’t sneeze without someone reminding you that one is required to use a tissue to control nasal effluent under section 7(2)A of the Barbican Act (1987)(amended) Order 54. The Residents’ Association will WhatsApp you at 3am
to complain that your window boxes are not planted with the right shade of pelargonium.

The private gardens are amazing in the summer though.

We used to live a 10 min walk to Liverpool St Station (in Hackney borough) and we spent a lot of time at the Barbican, and had friends who lived there. It's a great area, really well connected and lot to do. Great food at Whitecross Street, concerts at LSO St Lukes, Bunhill Fields. Our own area was more in the Shoreditch area which would probably be too lively for you - definitely not peaceful at weekends!

Not sure I would like living in the Barbican itself, due to all the rules, service charges and not being able to make certain modifications. But it suits many people - makes a change from living in a freehold property, but less hassle in some ways.

We've never owned a car. Getting around daily has never been an issue, though I do wish we had one at times, mainly for IKEA shopping trips (their delivery charges are relatively high), picking up large Ebay deals, and ferrying the dc to certain activities (obviously not an issue for you, it's more that certain places can be awkward to get to on public transport and when you check the journey on Google maps it will be a 20 min drive but a 45 min on tube/bus/walking combo.)

I used to live on goswell road, and one of my best friends has spent 20+ years on golden lane

It’s brilliant but you need to be ok with constant background noise. It just has a different sort of version of quiet..!

im surprised at the pp who said their friends found cloth fair too quiet at weekends. Barbican and St John street are quite bustling, but it’s not for everyone

And re a car… the rules for residents within the congestion charge zone have changed… I’m pretty sure they’ve stopped accepting new applications for the resident discount,
so if you got a car, you’d be paying £15/day for the pleasure of it being parked on the street, or for any journey if you have off street parking

@tenbob I was just around the corner from you! So not City of London proper, it Clerkenwell (with Barbican as my closest station).
As a Londoner this was by far the best location I’ve ever lived and will aim to go back once I’m in a similar boat to you OP. It was much quieter that other places I’ve lived in zone 1 and 2. Was lucky to live in a warehouse conversion that faced an inner courtyard so had zero street/traffic noise - bliss!
Was still lovely and quiet on the weekends in the sense that if you wake
up early enough you feel like the City is yours, but not dead enough to be soulless. I would disagree that shops are closed, there is a very convenient Tesco and Waitrose near by that were always open, walkable to Exmouth Market, Shoreditch, the river, I could go on forever!
I’d also ditch the car, I’ve never had need for one or my parents who are near by. Very easy to rent when you need to.
Go for it!

Some parts of the city are dead at the weekend, but around the Barbican/Farringdon/Clerkenwell is quite buzzy.

Worth noting that you can get on the Elizabeth line via Moorgate station although that area is dead at the weekend (the big M&S doesn't open on a Sunday for instance!).

I lived just outside the City proper and loved it (maybe six years ago), actually very close to Liverpool Street. The City is a very special place and definitely has more to it than its offices, so I can see the appeal!

A few weekends ago I happened to walk through the Square Mile and it was definitely still empty. From a practical perspective, it never bothered me too much as I was close to the action in Shoreditch and could also walk to the West End (so you'll definitely get your culture fill). I imagine it'd be even easier these days with so many instant grocery delivery services available in London. One thing I missed was my gym, which was only open for a few hours on Saturday and closed on Sunday. Otherwise the emptiness can be a nice change of pace and a good opportunity to really explore the architecture and history.

However, the thing that always bothered me (and still did when I went a few weeks ago) is that to me, it feels really eerie on the weekends - a bit like a ghost town or sci fi movie. I've worked in the City and in Canary Wharf, and have on occasion spent a Saturday or Sunday in either. For some reason the City always feels a bit "wrong" to me outside of Mon-Fri - even Canary Wharf feels more "human," maybe because of the weekend shoppers? I can't put my finger on why the weekend City gives me the heebie jeebies, but it does...

I'd also say that foot traffic is a lot worse in the City than Canary Wharf. In CW I find that I can usually walk at a brisk pace even at peak times, whereas the City gets more congested due to narrower streets etc. even after COVID. Towards Liverpool Street it's not so bad, but as soon as I get closer to the Bank of England area I rarely beat the Google Maps estimate and am sometimes late.

Of my friends who lived within the Square Mile, virtually all were fresh transplants who had moved to London for work. Many of them preferred being walking distance from the office in case they had to come in on short notice on weekends. Most of them left within a year or two - I think they found that none of their friends wanted to come see them in the City after they'd spent all week working there. And they themselves often weren't too keen on being so close to their office after some time... could it be a bit too close for comfort for your DH? And/or if your friends also work in the City, they might not be as keen to venture in yet again for a dinner party at yours over the weekend? On the flip side, however, it will become VERY easy to organise drinks and dinner on a weeknight!

I hear completely different things about the Barbican complex, though (much in line with what's been said above, both good and bad).

To end on a positive note, I kept on bumping into people from my wider industry, and I mean constantly. I actually really enjoyed this when I just started working in London. I am a transplant myself and it was a good way to keep in touch - it gives a corporate neighbourhood this strangely uplifting village feel at times. That said, it's maybe not so good if you're having an off day ;)

@CityKity it wasn’t Dallington street, by any chance..?

because that description is identical to where I lived..!

A few weekends ago I happened to walk through the Square Mile and it was definitely still empty.

These days it very much depends where in the City you are. It's not like years ago when everywhere in the City was quiet. I live just on the borders of the City so actually in Tower Hamlets (been there for 2 decades now) and I'm in the City every Sat morning for the gym/nails/brunch etc, sometimes Sundays too.

The area around Monument/Fenchurch St is so horribly busy with tourists, even Bank is busy. The tourists only seem to drop off as you get near Moorgate (so that's a win for living in the Barbican!) I blame bloody Sky Garden (and to a lesser extent 120 Fenchurch St).

Around Liverpool St (apart from the streets to the north-west) is also incredibly busy on Saturdays now (Sundays obviously being a given due to the markets).

I used to love how deserted the City was at weekends. Clearly I am a grumpy old woman now who hates this busier version. Same for Canary Wharf. I was there last weekend and it was heaving!

I tend to stick to Wapping for my weekend 'quiet fix' these days. That's still lovely and quiet.

I lived on the edge in N1. I didn't have a car during that time but I was a zipcar member for any out of town drives. Day to day I walked almost everywhere, some bus and minimal tube. It was an amazing place to live and lots of quiet areas to wander on a Sunday. I spent a lot of time around Barbican and it is one of my absolute favourite places to be.

I lived there as a student - GSMD halls of residence are on Chiswell St round the corner from the Barbican. I did find it quiet at weekends but absolutely loved it. It’s my dream to go back when downsizing. Perhaps to a Poirot style penthouse in charter house square!

However, the thing that always bothered me (and still did when I went a few weeks ago) is that to me, it feels really eerie on the weekends - a bit like a ghost town or sci fi movie.

As a kid my dad would sometimes take me into his office in the city on the weekends & I used to think this! There would be no one about on the streets & the office would have rows of empty desks & seats. I would always expect a monster to turn one of the corners!

so if you got a car, you’d be paying £15/day for the pleasure of it being parked on the street,

Not if you left it parked and didn’t drive through any of the camera points, you wouldn’t. (But I can’t imagine on street parking is a realistic option for keeping a car in the city)

I used to live in Inner Temple (accommodation scholarship) and there was nothing lovelier than opening the gate onto a gloriously silent Fleet St on a Sunday morning to go in search of milk. (Though more often than not there’d be a film crew and actors in Georgian or Victorian costume milling around.) Everything in the vicinity being closed used to be a bit problematic, but it’s better now.

I’d kill to live at the Barbican - there would never be any need to leave its environs over the weekend.

But yes, unless you have a parking pass, you really don’t want to be burdened with a car.

I was close to the action in Shoreditch and could also walk to the West End

I admit I'm probably a slower/lazier walker than many, but Google Maps says it would take an hour for the average person to walk from Liverpool St Station to Oxford Circus. Which is doable, but most people would hop on the tube/bus for that distance. There are always comments about how you can walk everywhere in Central London, but unless you're happy to spend a big chuck of your day walking, or never venture to central places outside your locality (e.g. Kensington), you'd still be using public transport a lot.